Refrigerator.



C.'A. KETTERER.

REFRKGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILD JULY 3. 1916.

1,288,031. Patented De0. 17 ,1918.

- INVENTOR. G/Z/fSf/ZVfL-V ATTORNEY.

CHARLES A. KETTERER, OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS.

REFRIGERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1'7, 1918.

Application filed July 3, 1916. Serial N 0. 107,359.

To all whom i2, may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. KETTERER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of East St. Louis, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators, of which the following is a specification containing a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in refrigeratorsand is particularly directed to the construction of a container for ice, salt and brine.

The object of my invention is to construct an ice and salt container comprising ice and salt receptacles of tubular formation, having their bodies ported to permit the brine to overflow the outer surfaces thereof to prevent the collection of frost. in such tubular containers I have sectional tubular air passage ways of different dimensions, the sections of each passage way being of different diametrical dimensions whereby to provide for the flow of salt water over the inner surfaces of said passage ways to prevent collection of frost on the said inner surfaces.

With the above and other objects in view which will be hereinafter made clear, my

' invention consists in the novel arrangement and construction of parts which will be hereinafter fully, clearly and concisely set forth in my specification, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a plan of a device embodying my improvements, and

Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing, 5 designates the body or frame of the device which consists of imperforate and vertically disposed walls in rectangular arrangement and by preference provided with a reinforcing bead 6 at their upper ends. This body or frame is supported by standards 7 which are preferably constructed of angle iron and secured permanently to the inside faces of the walls of the body 5 and in the corners thereof.

The reference character 8 designates a cover, which is removable, for the body 5, and which is preferably provided with a Arranged withflange 9 depending from its margins to overlap the upper ends of the walls of the body 5.

The reference character 10 designates the ice pan which is composed of vertical Walls of rectangular formation paralleling the Walls of the body 5 and spaced therefrom by the supports 7. The ice pan is fixedly secured to the body 5 by means of bolts or the like 11 extending through the walls of both the ice pan and body 5. By preference the upper extremity of the walls of the ice pan 10 are provided with a reinforcing bead 12. The bottom 13 of the ice pan is dished and by preference inclines from opposite walls downwardly and inwardly toward the center of the pan. This bottom is provided with openings and by preference the openings extend in rows alining both longitudinally and transversely of the pan and extended through each of said openings is an open topped tube 14 of inverted frusto conical formation. At the top of each tube 14 there is an outstanding flange 15 whereby the tube is supported by the bottom 13 of the ice pan. In each tube there is a bottom 16 and each bottom 16 is centrally apertured and has inserted therethrough an imperforate tube 17 which is open at both ends, and the imperforatc tube 17 extends some considerable distance upwardly into the tube 14. Adjacent the top of each tube 14 there is a cross rod 18 upon which is supported a second tube 19 of lesser diameter than the tube 17 so that there will be a space 20 between the lower end of the tube 19 and the upper end of the tube 17 providing a passage way for the flow of brine from the tube 14 over the inner surface of the tube 17.

Adjacent the upper end of the tube 17 there is a cross rod 21 upon which is sup ported the tube 22 of lesser cross sectional dimensions than the tube 19 so that there will be a space 23 between the tubes 19 and 22 providing a passage way for the flow of brine from the body 5 of the refrigerator over the inner surface of the tube 19.

As clearly shown in the drawings between the overlapping ends of the tubes 17 and 19 and 19 and 22 and resting upon the rods 18 1 the tubes 22 is an air hole 24, and it is to be understood in this connection that the height of my device approximates but does not wholly approach the height of the refrigerator body in which it is placed so that the warm air in the upper part of the refrigerator body will be conducted through the air holes 24 and downwardly through the air tubes 17, 19 and 22 and discharge the air cooled by the ice and brine into the refrigerator body next the floor thereof.

It is to be noted that the tubes for the air of my invention is mounted and which is arranged to catch the brine from the salt and ice containers and by preference I connect withthe drip pan a drain pipe 30.

It is to be observed that with my invention I combine a rectangular ice receptacle with tubular receptacles of difi'erent lengths and by this construction utilize for cooling purposes all of the surfaces of the ice receptacles. By reason of the spaced apart walls of the ice pan and the body, brine may flow over said spaced walls and prevent the collection of frost thereon and by reason of the spaced ends of the sections of the tubular air passage ways I provide for the flow of brine over the inside surfaces of said tubular sections to prevent the collection of frost on their inner surfaces.

The reference characters 31 designate the extensions of each of the frusto conical tubes 14 whose upper ends are above the bottom 13 of the ice pan in order to hold a considerable quantity of brine in the bottom of said ice pan. This body of brine in connection with a body of brine held at the bottom of each of the tubes 14 constitute a very important feature of my device in that the brine is held as a refrigerating body and kept alive in condition for cooling so long as any ice and salt remain in the device, and my tests have shown that these bodies of brine remain cool for a considerable period after the ice has been completely exhausted. In some instances I perforate the tubes 19 and 22 of the air passageways intermediate their ends in order to provide for the fiow of brine thereinto at points other than from their open upper ends as well as to introduce into the moving air current at a number of intervals throughout the height of the passage ways air directly from the salt and ice where it is at its coolest point. The length of the air passage way and the imperforate lower section obviates the dis charge of over moisture laden cool air into the refrigerator body.

IVhile I have shown its bottom inclined toward the center I of course do not wish to be limited to such a. structure as a number of other ways are known to myself and will be known to others versed in the art for providing a drain for the ice pan, and the shape of the entire de vice including the bottom of the ice pan may vary according to the different types of device which I may build.

In order to provide for the drain of brine from the lower ends of the tubes 14 I employ removable plugs 32 located as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, and which may be of any suitable construction.

It is to be observed from Fig. 2 of the drawing that I contemplate the employment of various forms of walls for the tubes 14, certain of the walls being shown as constructed of perforate sheet metal and others of combined imperforate sheet metal and a section of wire cloth or other reticulate material.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor is: r

1. In a refrigerator a frame comprising vertical. walls, supports secured to the inner faces of said walls, an ice pan comprising a bottom and vertical walls spaced fromthe. vertical walls of the frame by said supports, open ended frusto conical tubes supported by said bottom there being openings in said tubes and said tubes being of different lengths, sectional open ended air tubes extending upwardly through said frusto conical tubes through said ice pan and through said frame, the sections of said passage ways: being of different crOSS sectional dimensions leaving air spaces at their overlapped ends.

2. In a refrigerator an open topped and open bottom frame, a removable cover for the ice pan having 7 the frame, an ice pan having its walls spaced 7 from the walls of said frame, a bottom in said ice pan, open topped tubes suspended from the bottom of said ice pan, there being openings in the walls of said tubes for a portion of their heights only, an open ended air passage way supported by the bottom of each of said tubes and removable air tubes telescoping each other and said air passage way, means for draining said ice pan, a drip pan and means for draining said drip pan.

3. In a refrigerator an ice pan, an open topped tubular ice container extended through the bottom of the ice pan withits upper end above the plane of the bottom of the ice pan whereby to form a brine receptacle on the bottom of the ice pan, and

an air passage way comprising a number of through said tubular ice container and the telescoped tubes extending upwardlythrough ice pan, and means for draining said tubes said tubular ice container and the ice pan. and said ice pan.

4. In a refrigerator an ice pan an open In testimony whereof I have signed my 15 topped tubular ice container extended name to this specification in presence of two through thBbbOtCOIfiI of the ie 1pan with it; subscribing witnesses. upper end a ove t e plane 0 t e bottom 0 the ice pan whereby to form a brine recep- CHARLES KETTERER' tacle on the bottom of the ice pan, a num- Witnesses: ber of telescoping tubes of different diame- R. G. ORWIG, ters forming an air passage way upwardly ALICE C. Krntm'rz.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

